Amazon and Microsoft Team Up on German Water Restoration Project

Amazon and Microsoft are collaborating on a water restoration project in Germany that aims to return over 750 million litres of water annually to local groundwater supplies while restoring wetlands in the state of Hesse.

The joint project, implemented by German environmental organisation NABU with regional partners and authorities across 40 hectares in the Vogelsberg region, is expected to slow runoff and increase infiltration through the removal of artificial drainage systems and creation of shallow-water areas.

Amazon is contributing more than €2.9 million to the initiative, which also includes extensive grassland management to reduce nutrients entering waterways. The company says this is its third water restoration project in Germany and estimates that the three projects combined could return over 920 million litres of water annually to communities and ecosystems around Frankfurt.

The partnership between Amazon and Microsoft marks a notable example of companies addressing environmental pressures associated with their infrastructure at a regional level, rather than through isolated corporate projects. This comes as data centres require water directly and indirectly, while water availability is also affected by local hydrology, competing demand, and changing climate conditions.